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I Need Help

liyah2002
liyah2002 Member Posts: 1 Member
Hello!
My name is Aaliyah. I am 23. I was adopted by my grandparents when I was 2 months old. They've raised me without any help from my biological parents. In 2016, my freshmen year of highschool, I lost my grandfather to Alzheimer's.
I took it insanely hard. I was one of the only ones he remembered in the end. I had reoccuring dreams where he would walk in the door and tell us that he's actually alive, and that he still loves us. They would feel so real, and then I'd wake up.

Now, in 2026, my grandmother is suffering from Lewy body dementia. It has been so much worse than Alzheimer's was for my grandfather. She is forgetting me. She doesn't remember her oldest kids. She is violent. She hallucinates. She has been refusing medicine and isn't eating. Her husband and I took her to the hospital, where she got transferred into a geriatric behavioral hospital to get her medicine sorted to return home. I am so scared for her. I just know she is scared right now. I feel awful that's she's even there and that I cannot do more for her. I work full-time, go to school full-time, and I have two young boys under 2. I know I am going to regret not making the sacrafices I need to be there for her, but I know I won't survive if I don't continue to work for myself and my kids. This isn't fair. When I look at my mom, I see her. She is beautiful, but the light is drawn out of her eyes. It's like she's not really there. She speaks, and it's not her talking. I wish I could take all this away from her and give it to myself.

Comments

  • JulietteBee
    JulietteBee Member Posts: 620
    250 Likes 250 Care Reactions 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    @liyah2002 , I am so sorry you find yourself in such an awful situation.

    I do agree with you that you must continue your educational pursuits. Your grandparents would not have wanted you to drop out to become grandma's full-time caretaker. I also agree that you may find yourself suffering from guilt and regret. However, when those negative thoughts and feelings come to assault your mind, remind yourself that you are doing the very best you can, juggling all your responsibilities

    Please be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace! Hugs!🫂

  • psg712
    psg712 Member Posts: 787
    250 Care Reactions 250 Likes 500 Comments Third Anniversary
    Member

    Aaliyah, you are facing a lot of big challenges for your age. You are doing the best that you can to juggle it all. Just show love to your mom when you can be with her. Your love will bless her, even though she can't express it back.

    Many of us here know the feelings that come with watching the light leave our parent's eyes as dementia progresses. Lewy body is extra hard with the quick progression and difficult behaviors. I hope that you have support from other family members and from friends. It's hard for many adults in their 20s to relate to the stress of a seriously ill parent. Come here to vent as often as you need!

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more